


The Victory of Hawkmoth

by Word_Devourer



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, Because the deal makes sense, But still feels like it's not right to rate it G, Difficult Decisions, Hawkmoth wins, Language is still G-rated, Rated for really nasty deals, Wishes, i think this qualifies as
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-26
Updated: 2018-07-26
Packaged: 2019-06-16 12:47:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15437382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Word_Devourer/pseuds/Word_Devourer
Summary: Hawkmoth finally gets his hands on the Ladybug and Cat Miraculous.  No matter how one of the kwamis tries to stall him, there's no stopping him from asking for his wish.  But every wish comes at a price, and a wish as great as his requires an equally great price.





	The Victory of Hawkmoth

**Author's Note:**

> Incidentally, when I said 'No archive warnings apply,' I meant it. If you're expecting Adrien to die, I will spoil that he does not.

Despite, or perhaps _because_ it had been his goal for so long, holding them in his hand seemed like something out of a dream.  The earrings weren’t spotted, and the ring was silver, but that made sense, since they were _designed_ to be discrete.

Hmm.  Silver ring.  It _did_ look a lot like the one Adrien wore.  For a second, he regretted not checking their identities before recalling his villain, but it didn’t matter now.  None of it mattered, because the power to shape reality was his.

****

It didn’t _matter_ the hundreds of times before now that Ladybug and Cat Noir had successfully defeated the villain he’d sent at them, because the laws of probability had been on his side.  It didn’t _matter_ that he’d left Adrien so unattended he hadn’t even known whether he was Cat Noir, because if he could just bring Emilie back, it would all be worth it.  It didn’t _matter_ who the secret identities of the heroes were, because they weren’t the heroes, anymore, just civilians.  It didn’t-

He cut off the internal monologue.  Of _course_ he wanted to savor this moment of triumph, but this wasn’t what he was here for.  He hadn’t been trying to steal their Miraculous as a challenge; he’d been doing it for a very specific reason.

****

He closed his hand around the earrings and the ring, trying to feel the power within them that he knew was there.

Two, lights, almost familiar, formed in front of them.  After a second, he realized why; it was just what he’d seen the first time Nooroo had materialized.  On the left, a red figure with black spots and blue eyes appeared, and on the right, a pure black, pointy-eared, green-eyed cat of a thing.

The two kwamis, which was, of course, what they were, glimmered into existence, and slowly became aware of him.  Their blank expressions fell.

“Ohhh no, I hate this part,” groaned the Cat.

“Well then,” he said, “I believe you must-

“Yeah, yeah, grant you a wish.  Phenomenal cosmic power, in the palm of your hand, _believe me_ , we know.”

“At a price,” said the Ladybug, almost too quiet to hear.

The Cat kwami seemed to _enjoy_ backsassing him.  It didn’t matter. He was _getting_ that wish, one way or another.  “I wish to have my wife restored, alive and well,” he said.

Nothing happened.

“It doesn’t work like that,” said the Ladybug, softly.

“Yeah, you’ve got to-

“Plagg!” said the other one, sharply.

The Cat, Plagg, sighed.  “Look,” he said, “We _have_ to tell him if he asks, and he’s _going_ to ask.”

“And what will I ask?” asked Hawkmoth.

Plagg looked up at him, and paused.  Then, he laughed, not happy, but amused. He grinned.  “Y’know what, Tikki?” he said, “I like this idea, actually. Let’s make him ask.”

“Ask what?” said Hawkmoth, beginning to grow impatient.

Plagg shrugged, and reclined in midair, hands behind his head.  “You tell me.”

For a long second, nobody moved.  It seemed this little jape had only raised the Cat’s spirits, while the Ladybug, Tikki, seemed just as upset as before.  And Hawkmoth… Well.

“What question must I ask?” he asked.

Plagg looked over at Tikki, who gave a noncommittal gesture with an arm.  Plagg looked back at him. “The question you want the answer to.”

Fine.  “How do I bring back my wife?”

“You make a wish with both the Ladybug and Cat Miraculous.”

“I did that.”

He shrugged.

Hawkmoth grumbled.  “Why didn’t it work?”

“Because you didn’t do it right.”  Tikki chuckled faintly, at that.

Hawkmoth was well and truly scowling now, imminent return of his wife or no.

“And how do I do it correctly?”

“You have to be holding the Miraculous separately.”

“What?”

“Separately.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“One in each hand.”

He carefully transferred the earrings to his left hand.

“I wish to have my wife restored, alive and well,” he said.

Nothing happened.

“Why didn’t it work?”

“Because you didn’t do it right.”

“What?”

“BECAUSE YOU DIDN’T DO IT RIGHT!” repeated the kwami, louder this time.

“I heard you the first time,” he spat.

“I mean, I _thought_ I said it loud enough for you to hear, but for all I knew you were old and going deaf.” He looked over at Tikki.  “I don’t think we’ve ever had to explain things to someone who can’t hear. That’d be pretty awkward, right? We'd probably have to do it in writing.”

“What did I do wrong?”  He was well and truly enraged now.

“You’re holding them wrong.”

“Why didn’t you say that before?” he snapped

“I gave an honest answer.”

“And how am I _supposed_ to be holding them?” he asked

“In the other hands.”

He switched them between his hands.

“Like this?”

The kwami nodded.  He should have realized from the expression that he wasn’t done yet, but he couldn’t help repeating his wish.

“I wish to have my wife restored, alive and well,” he said.

Nothing happened.

He snapped his gaze back to Plagg, who was still reclining in midair.

Plagg didn’t seem to notice.

“What else?”

“What else what?” said the kwami, grinning.

He clenched his fists around the Miraculous.  He wasn’t sure what would happen if he tried to do bodily harm to a kwami, but he was tempted to find out.  But no. No. He could keep this going as long as this stupid-

He cut off the mental litany of curses that was waiting for him.

“What else,” he growled, “do I need to do, to have my wish granted?”

“You can only use those two at the same time because they’re special.  You can’t use them _and_ the Butterfly Miraculous at the same time.”

“So I have to detransform.”

The kwami didn’t answer… Because that hadn’t technically been a question.

“Do I have to detransform to use the wish?”

“Yup.”

“Dark Wings, Fall!” he called out, and felt the familiar rush of energy as he resumed his civilian identity.  Nooroo reappeared; somewhere behind him, he thought.

Plagg’s eyes had been closed as if he was taking a nap, but he opened one a crack to take a look, and-

His ears flattened back against his head, and his expression rapidly soured.

“Gabriel Agreste,” he said, in a voice more acid than Gabriel’s own had been.

He raised his eyebrows.  “You know me, then.”

“Yeah.”

“How?”

The kwami seemed about to respond, and then bared his teeth.  “I don’t have to answer that.”

“Ah yes.  I forgot; you’re only bound to truth about one particular topic.   _Speaking of which._ ” he wasn’t about to make the same mistake a third time.  “What more do I have to do to make the wish?”

Plagg snapped his head away at the question, and, for a second, everything was quiet.

“You only need to focus on the Miraculous in your hands,” said the other one, when it became clear that her partner wasn’t going to answer, “and we can begin.”

So.  This was it, then.  He focused. The ring in his left hand.  The earrings in his right. There _was_ something.  He could feel it beginning to-

****

Something seemed to _split_ , as if something in the world had cracked.  His hands went through the singular sensation of being charged with incredible power.  It was like holding something red hot, but without the pain, like a white-hot numbness.

There the kwamis were again, upright, directly in front of them, much like they’d been when he’d first summoned them.  When they opened their eyes, they were the same as before, except that they glimmered unnaturally.

“Gabriel Agreste,” they said in unison, “you have in your hands the powers of creation and destruction.  You have the power to make a wish. Do you desire to use this power?”

For a second, he was too shocked to answer, but as soon as he’d mentally gotten to his feet, the answer was out in an instant. “Yes!”

“And what is your wish?” still in unison.

“I wish to have my wife restored, alive and well,” he said.  He had practiced the line, made sure that it would have as little room for error as possible.

They finally looked at him directly.  “For every wish,” said Tikki, “there is a price of equal value to be paid.”

“I will pay any price,” he said.  He hadn’t come this far to stop for some petty _cost_ ; there was nothing of high enough value to stop him.

“Would you let Adrien die for her to come back?” Asked Plagg, quietly, voice devoid of the laughter from before.

It felt like his blood had suddenly frozen solid.  Oh.

Of course that would be their price.  Of _course_ .  How could he have not expected it?  They could have asked for _his_ life, and it would have been an easy choice.  But his son… His son, who, to his knowledge, had never purposefully hurt another person.  His son, who had so much of his mother in him, and so little of his father.

How could he say yes?  How could he possibly let his son die?  But then. How could he say no? How could he possibly come this far, and then leave his wish unfulfilled?  How could he…

“Can I offer my own life in his place?” he asked.

A moment, and then, “The price must equal the value of the wish.  If you wish to regain a loved one, you must lose one.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“Yes I did.  Again. would you let Adrien die if it meant Emilie would return?”

 

Gabriel stood there, unmoving.  For seconds, and then minutes, he stood, fists clenched around two artifacts of immense power.  A keen observer would have seen his chest shudder slightly as his breathing grew unsteady.

 

Finally, after a long time, during which nobody spoke, he finally said, “I would.”

“Thought you might say that,” said Plagg, with that same acid from before.

He looked up.

“There is something else to consider,” said Tikki.

He looked over.

“Gabriel Agreste,” she said, “to acquire our power, you have already sacrificed much.  You have become a villain. You have distanced yourself immeasurably from your own son.  You have poured years of your life single-mindedly to this goal.”

He nodded.  It was true.

“The price of regaining a loved one is that you must lose another loved one,” she continued. “However… We can make a deal.”

He waited.

The two kwamis looked at each other.  They seemed to converse silently, and then, finally, nodded at each other.

“Your wife will return,” said Plagg.

“In return,” said Tikki, “Everyone you have hurt to make it here will know who you are.  You will never again be able to hide behind the guise of Hawkmoth. Every person you’ve made suffer, every person whose suffering you’ve taken advantage of.  All of them will know who you are and what you’ve done.”

“Including,” finished Plagg, “everything that has happened today.  This whole conversation.” He fixed Gabriel with a stare that seemed to cut through him.  “Your son will know that you were willing to sacrifice him to bring your wife back.”

He broke eye-contact.

“If I had said no…"

“It would have been the same deal,” said Tikki.

****

It would have been the same deal.  He covered his face with his hands.  His goal was within reach. He could, in an instant, finish this.  But… Well… They hadn’t lied. If he wanted Emilie back, he would still lose someone he cared about.  Everything he’d done. He couldn’t possibly imagine how his son would react. He could imagine even less how he’d react to that brutal calculation; even he would have recoiled to hear someone state outright which of two lives they valued more.  He couldn’t imagine that Adrien would ever want to see him again. Which meant…

No.  He’d never be able to talk to his son properly again.  If he tried to stay, he’d surely be imprisoned, at _best._  And if he left… He could bring Emilie, run away, and try to start a new life, quiet, and far away from Paris.

And leave his son, here, alone, with _neither_ of his parents.  Or, he could run away himself, and lose his son, and lose his wife _again._

But.  He had no choice, did he?  It was like before. He’d come this far, and whatever the cost to himself, worse than his life, he realized now, he knew the answer he had to give.

“Can I have five minutes, before everyone realizes?”

They looked at each other.  Neither seemed quite certain.

Finally, after an interminable time… “Yes.”

“I… Accept.”

The personality seemed to fade from each of their eyes.

“Then your wish is granted,” they said in unison.  “She will be alive, where you’d expect her to be.”

There was a flash of light, and they were gone.  The Miraculous were still there. Probably, if he’d wanted to, he could have made another wish, but he’d had enough of wishes to last him a lifetime.

It was time to go.

“Master?”

He only had five minutes.  He didn’t stop walking.

“My wish has been granted,” he said, stepping on the section of ground.

“I know,” said Nooroo, following him.  “I saw it all.  I'll see it again soon.”

As he was suddenly returned to his room, Gabriel paused for an instant.  Of _course_ Nooroo would be one of the ones to see it. _Nobody_ wanted to be a villain, or, indeed, help one.

But there was no time to wait.

“I’m sorry,” he said, finally, as he began walking to the door that would lead to him to his wife’s long-time resting place.

“I know.”

As he approached the door, he saw Nathalie beside it.

He looked at her.

“Is it over?” she asked.  He supposed the loss of their Miraculous would have widely publicized.  He wondered if that meant the world knew the heroes' identities now, as they were about to know his.

“My business is almost complete,” he said.  “I will have to leave, shortly. However, I am sure Emilie will be agreeable to continuing your tenure.  Doubtless Adrien will want as much continuity as possible. He’ll be very glad to have you stay.”

“Will you return?” she asked.

He shook his head, and moved to the door.  Then, he paused, and pulled the Miraculous from where it was hidden.  He reached out a hand, and offered it to her. She gave him the look that on _her_ face meant surprise.

“My business with it is done,” he said, “I’d prefer to leave it with someone trustworthy.”

He paused, and then, “And I have one final job for you.  The other two are in the observatory, still. See they make it back to their proper owners.”  Nathalie nodded.

“Are you sure?”  That was Nooroo.  Did Nooroo want to stay with him?  After all of that?

“I would feel uncomfortable with it,” Nathalie added.

His business was done, but if Nathalie wouldn’t take it, who else would he give it to?  Perhaps his son.  Perhaps his wife.

Then again...  He pinned it back on.  Maybe he’d have a chance to be the _hero_ , next time, somewhere far away from Paris.  That might be nice.

He pinned the Miraculous back on, and walked down the stairs.

So, he thought, smiling humorlessly, he’d finally found Nathalie’s limits.  Managing a truly horrendous schedule was no issue. Dealing with a thousand cancellations, par for the course.  Telling a teenager over, and over, that his father wouldn’t be there tonight, she could manage. Even keeping secrets for Paris’ resident supervillain was perfectly within reason for her.  But the responsibility of being a superhero was too much for her.

He’d already used much of his time up.  He probably only had enough time for a goodbye, now.  He regretted that this building was so tall now, because even as he could finally look into it, even as he could see- his breath caught.  There she was, alive and well, just as he remembered her.

But even now, he had to burn another 10 seconds descending the stairs as quickly as his legs would carry him.

“Gabriel?” she asked, in a voice that he’d almost forgotten.

He’d ran, but now, as he was close enough to see her up close, he stopped.

It was her.  Real. Alive.  And right in front of him.

He nodded.  “It’s me.”

“Where are we?” she asked.

“I- there’s no time,” he said.  “I… I’m sorry, but I can’t stay long.  You’ve been away for a long time. Years.  It took so long to bring you back.”

“Bring me back?  What are you-

“I only have a few minutes before everything I’ve ever done comes crashing down.” his voice was beginning to shake.  “I just. I just wanted to say that I’m sorry. I’m sorry that you died. I’m sorry that it took so long to bring you back. I’m sorry you had to miss so much of your own son growing up.  I’m sorry,” and here his voice broke, as the tears he’d never cried, all those years ago, finally found their way out, “I’m sorry that I have to go.”

“Go where?” she asked.

He looked down.  “I’ve done things I’m not proud of to bring you back.  You’ll hear it all, I’m sure. I just… I just want you to know; everything I’ve done, I’ve done to try and make up for what happened to you.”

He could feel the shift in the air as the other part of the deal came through.  He suddenly saw everything, again, crystal clear in his memory.  So they'd decided he needed to see it too.  Either way, he needed to leave.  He might get lucky, and there would be a few minutes before people would manage to digest the information.  Maybe he'd still be able to escape.

For a second he wanted to stay here, come what may; they could take him, but he'd have a few more minutes with  _her_.  But no. He clenched a hand, and through blurred vision, took a final look at his wife.  She didn't seem to have seen what most of Paris had just seen; that was a comfort, at least.  For a second, he just stared, trying to remember her strongly enough that he’d never forget a single detail.

“Goodbye,” he said, and turned away.

“Goodbye,” she said, almost quiet enough that he couldn’t hear her, in a soft, almost bewildered voice that cracked what was left of his heart.

 

Nathalie didn't stop him, but the look on her face was strangely cold, as he walked past.

"You'll likely never see me again," he said.

She didn't say anything, but he thought from her nod that she was glad.  He couldn't blame her.  If  _he'd_ had the chance to never see himself again, he might just have accepted it.

But that wasn't an option, which meant it was time for Gabriel Agreste to vanish, and never again be seen by anyone he’d ever known.  The only parts of his family that had ever really been worth anything would be reunited. That would have to be enough for him.


End file.
